Year: 2022

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri in Cairo Sunday for talks focusing on efforts to end the Ukraine crisis, moves to resume grain exports from Russia and Ukraine, joint trade agreements, regional conflicts and a nuclear power plant which Russia has begun to build on Egypt’s north coast.

The first leg of Lavrov’s Africa visit, Cairo, centered on major issues facing Russia and Egypt, on both the economic and political fronts. Both countries do between $4 and $5 billion in annual trade and the Ukraine conflict and COVID-19 have caused disruptions to tourism, grain sales and energy exports.

Lavrov and Shukri indicated in a joint press conference Sunday that both sides were working to overcome issues of mutual concern:

Shukri said that the Ukraine conflict has affected Egypt’s food security, its energy needs, its trade with the outside world and created inflation and supply chain issues that need to be resolved.

Shukri went on to say that Egypt “would like to see a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict based on common sense and dialogue,” and “ending military hostilities and settling political differences.”

Egyptian political sociologist Said Sadek told VOA that he thinks that visits this past week by President el-Sissi to France and Germany may have been part of an effort to mediate a diplomatic solution between Russia and Ukraine.

“I think that the visit by [el-]Sissi to Europe had to do with mediating the Ukrainian crisis, regardless of what the [cover story] may be, because if you look, he went to Germany and France. They are the ones leading Europe regarding the Ukraine crisis — after the Americans, of course — and Serbia, which is very close to the Russians.”

Lavrov, for his part, noted that he had discussed “putting a speedy end” to the Ukraine conflict with el-Sissi and all the factors involved in doing so. His comments came as Russia continues its attacks in Ukraine.

Lavrov said that Russia appreciates the speedy search for a peaceful settlement, taking into account the fundamental legitimate interests of all participants in the process, in the context of building a sustainable European security architecture on a fair basis.

Egypt’s Dabbah nuclear power plant, on which Russia recently began construction, was also reportedly a major topic of discussion between Lavrov and his hosts. Russia’s Rosatom is building the plant.

Middle East energy analyst Paul Sullivan, who is with the Washington-based Atlantic Council think tank, told VOA that “nuclear power plants give the building country, in this case Russia, 80 to 100 years of leverage in the receiving country.” He added that “Russia and China dominate the export of nuclear power plants… [which] is a great source of political, diplomatic and economic power for both countries.”

Lavrov is also expected to visit Ethiopia, where Egypt is hoping that he raises the subject of the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Cairo worries will affect the quantity of water it receives on the Nile from the dam. Ethiopia – a nation of more than 110 million people – has said it needs the power from the dam for its development.

Source: Voice of America

Moving home is stressful for anyone — and rhinoceroses are no exception.

Vets in South Africa have just transferred more than 30 orphaned young rhinos to a sanctuary designed to keep the animals safe from poachers who killed their mothers.

The move took six weeks and required extraordinary planning, including the help of animal friends who accompanied the orphans.

“We can’t just move them all at the same time and go ‘boom, there’s a new home’,” said Yolande van der Merwe, who oversees their new home.

“You have to take it on very carefully because they’re sensitive animals,” she said.

Van der Merwe, 40, manages the Rhino Orphanage, which cares for calves orphaned by poachers, rehabilitates them and then releases them back into the wild.

This month, after its old lease expired, the non-profit moved to bigger premises, in a secret location between game farms in the northern province of Limpopo.

Benji, a white calf who is only a few months old was the last rhino to relocate.

At birth, rhinos are small, not higher than an adult human knee, and tip the scales at around 20 kilograms (44 pounds).

But they eat a lot and quickly pick up weight, ballooning up to half a tonne in their first year of life.

Given Benji’s recent loss, staff were worried he would freak out during the process that saw him anesthetized and loaded in the back of a 4×4.

But thankfully Benji’s friend, Button the sheep, was by his side throughout the move — and his presence helped ensure that everything went smoothly.

“Mostly, their mothers have been poached,” said Pierre Bester, a 55-year-old veterinarian who has been involved with the orphanage since its founding 10 years ago.

“(They) all come here, and you handle them differently… you put them in crèches, give them a friend and then they cope.”

‘Love and care’

South Africa is home to nearly 80 percent of the world’s rhinos.

But it is also a hotspot for rhino poaching, driven by demand from Asia, where horns are used in traditional medicine for their supposed therapeutic effect.

On the black market rhino horns fetch tens of thousands of dollars.

More than 450 rhinos were poached across South Africa in 2021, according to government figures.

At the sanctuary, orphaned calves are nursed back to health by a team of caregivers who sometimes pull 24-hour shifts, sleeping in the same enclosure as the animals to help them adjust.

“Rhinos have their calves at foot the whole day, 24/7, and that’s the kind of care they require,” said van der Merwe.

“So we need to give that intense love and care to get them through the trauma,” she said, adding some younglings showed signs of post-traumatic-stress-disorder.

When they are fit enough, the animals are released back into the wild. Up to 90 percent normally make it.

At the new sanctuary, Benji and his friends enjoy bigger enclosures with more space to roam.

They are fitted special transmitters to monitor their movement as part of an array of security measures to keep poachers at bay.

The orphanage asked AFP’s reporters not to disclose its new location.

Source: Voice of America

PARIS — A manga series about a treasure-hunting pirate that has captivated millions of fans worldwide celebrates its 25th birthday as the final chapter of the bestselling saga reveals its secrets.

The last instalment of One Piece begins July 25 in Japanese weekly manga magazine Shonen Jump, published by Shueisha, following a one-month pause.

The series has racked up more than 100 volumes and smashed sales records since the first instalment appeared in 1997.

The story revolves around hero Luffy, who hunts for the coveted “One Piece” treasure alongside other pirates.

Author Eiichiro Oda, 47, landed a Guinness World Record for having the most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author — with 490 million produced.

His success has made his creation’s 25th birthday a global event, from the United States to France, the second-largest market for manga and Japanese animation.

The 100th volume of the series came out in France last year with 250,000 copies, a number rivalling works that have won the prestigious Prix Goncourt literature prize.

“I’m going to start showing all the secrets of this world that I’ve kept hidden,” Oda said in a handwritten message posted on Twitter. “It will be fun. Please fasten your seatbelt!”

Chedli Ben Hassine, a content creator who specializes in pop culture, told AFP One Piece has become “not only one of the greatest manga series in the world, but one of the greatest cultural works, all sectors included.”

“What makes this manga so special is above all the plot,” said Ryuji Kochi, president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Toei Animation, the Japanese company that has produced the series since 1999.

The One Piece universe includes cultural and geographical references that give it a universal dimension, including ancient Egypt, Venice and medieval Japan.

Engaging characters and modern themes of breakneck industrialization, racism, slavery and geopolitical intrigues add to the appeal of the series.

“By proposing totally different universes, the author never bores the reader,” Benoit Huot, head of manga at publishing company Glenat, told AFP. “You have a fresco, an epic, which lasts an extremely long time and where you can’t say it goes round in circles.”

Although the finale of One Piece promises plenty of twists and turns, the series has not reached a wider audience beyond Japanese comic fans like the global hits Star Wars and Harry Potter.

Japanese culture is far from matching the influence of Western creations backed by a large market and soft power that a cultural machinelike Hollywood can produce on an industrial scale, economist Julien Pillot told AFP.

Producers hope the upcoming release of a Netflix series adapted from the One Piece universe will help it conquer new territory, bringing the story to the global streaming platform’s more than 200 million subscribers.

Pillot said Hollywood has historically struggled to adapt manga series to the big screen, including the aesthetic and commercial flop that was the adaptation of Dragon Ball.

“If Netflix managed to create a product of very high quality, which captures the unique spirit of One Piece, that would be a good start,” he added.

Source: Voice of America